3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion


caption= 3rd LAR insignia
dates=May, 1983
country=United States
allegiance=
branch=USMC
type= Mechanized infantry battalion
role= Screen in advance of maneuver units
size=
command_structure=1st Marine Division
I Marine Expeditionary Force
current_commander=
garrison=Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= "Wolfpack"
patron=
motto= "The strength of the pack is the wolf, the strength of the wolf is the pack."
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles= Operation Desert Storm
Operation Restore Hope
Operation Iraqi Freedom
* 2003 invasion of Iraq
* Operation Phantom Fury
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=

3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (3rd LAR) is a light armored battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the LAV-25 and they are part of the 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force. The unit is based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California

History

Early years

The 3d Light Armored Vehicle Battalion originally began as Company A (Reinforced), 1st Light Armored Vehicle Battalion in May 1983, and began receiving LAVs in April 1984. Company A, 1st Light Armored Vehicle Battalion became Company A, 3d Light Armored Vehicle Battalion in late 1985. The 3d Light Armored Vehicle Battalion, 27th Marines, 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade was activated on 11 September 1986. The Battalion was re-designated as the 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion on October 1 1988 and subsequently relocated to Okinawa, Japan in February 1989. The Battalion returned to TwentyNine Palms on July 18 1991 as part of Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7).

Gulf War and the 1990s

Detachment 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia on August 16 1990 in support of Operation Desert Shield, as part of the 7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Task Force Lima. Later, the battalion conducted screening and deception operations as part of Task Force Shepherd, the forward unit of 1st Marine Division. On January 25 1991, Company B saw combat in the first ground offensive action of the war by participating in an artillery raid with 5th Battalion, 11th Marines. On the night of January 29 1991, during the battle of Umm Hjul, Company D was the primary unit to turn back a major Iraqi attack. Once the ground war commenced, 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion again found itself at the forefront of action. While assigned to the First Marine Division Command Post on the second day of the ground war, Company B decisively repelled an Iraqi counterattack on the Command Post. Additionally, Company D provided a mobile screen for Task Force Ripper, the leading unit for the Division. On the third day of the ground offensive, Task Force Shepherd was the first coalition force to enter Kuwait City and captured the Kuwait International Airport.

When a large earthquake hit the Philippines, the Company A participated in relief efforts. In April 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted and once again, Company A was called upon to provide security against looters and participated in the clean up efforts. Company A returned to TwentyNine Palms on 7 August 1991, completing an arduous 15-month deployment.

From December 1992 to April 1993, 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion deployed Company B and Company C along with the forward command group and forward logistics support for Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. The mission consisted of convoy escorts, delivering over 4,000 metric tons of grain to outlying areas. In addition to these missions, the forward logistics group, also unloaded from MPS ships vehicles consisting of LAVs, Humvees, 5 tons, deuce-and-a-halfs, and any other mobile wheeled vehicle. The ships present during this operation were the PFC James Anderson Jr, and the 1st Lt Jack Lummus.

On March 1 1994, 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion was re-designated as 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion. The Battalion also participated in counter-drug operations in support of Joint Task Force 6 in Arizona throughout 1994. It was during the early 1990s that the Battalion’s nickname and radio call sign became “Wolfpack.” 3d LAR Battalion also continued to support the 1st Marine Division’s Unit Deployment Program requirement by rotating an LAR company to Okinawa, Japan every six months.

Global War on Terror

Operation Iraqi Freedom

In late January through February 2003, the Battalion, with the exception of Company C (on unit deployment in Okinawa), deployed with the 1st Marine Division to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Upon arrival, the Battalion attached Company B, 4th LAR Battalion, which was subsequently re-designated as Company E. On March 21, 3d LAR Battalion and its attachments crossed into Iraq with the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, attacking into the Rumaylah oil fields. The Wolfpack, along with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, led the Division’s lightning attack north, passing through Task Force Tarawa 56 hours after attacking into Iraq, crossing the Euphrates, and continuing to attack north along Highway 1. On 23 March 2003, while advancing hundreds of kilometers in front of the Division to seize a bridge over the Tigris River, the battalion uncovered a night ambush by dozens of Iraqi irregular forces known as the Fedeyeen. This was the first major and only battalion-level engagement of the war which resulted in several dozen enemy killed in action and the destruction of Iraqi armor forces attempting to maneuver south against the Division. From the afternoon of March 24 until April 1, the Battalion was attached to Regimental Combat Team 5.

On March 31, the Battalion attacked north as part of Regimental Combat Team 5 and secured the northern portion of Hantush Airfield. On 10 April, the Battalion was tasked to provide a headquarters and two companies to Task Force Tripoli. This ad-hoc task force, composed of elements of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions, as well as G/2/23 and TOW plt, 1st Tank Battalion, and commanded by the assistant Division commander, continued to attack north towards Tikrit. The remainder of Task Force Wolfpack, Companies B, E, and approximately half of H&S Company, as well as the Rear Command Post element, remained outside Baghdad conducting stabilization operations while attached to 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion.

In its advance north towards Tikrit, the element of the Battalion attached to Task Force Tripoli made national headlines in the town of Samarra on April 13 when members of Company D rescued 7 American servicemen who had been taken prisoner earlier in the conflict. The rescued prisoners included two Army helicopter pilots and Shoshanna Johnson, a soldier from the same unit as Jessica Lynch. An image from this moment is captured in the “Operation Iraqi Freedom” mural on a building in 29 Palms. The Battalion reformed in Ad Diwaniyah on April 21. By mid-June, the entire Battalion had redeployed to Twenty-nine Palms, with the last elements of the Division following in September. The Battalion suffered two non-combat deaths, no killed in action, and nine wounded in action during this deployment.

Operation Iraqi Freedom II

In November 2003, the Battalion was given a warning order to prepare to redeploy in August to Iraq in support of the Division’s resumption of support and stability operations in the Al Anbar province. The Battalion was ordered to deploy in August 2004 for a seven-month period. 3rd LAR conducted a relief in place with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion at Korean Village, convert|35|mi|km west of the city of Ar Rutbah, and fell under Regimental Combat Team 7. During the early part of the deployment, Company D operated out of Al Qaim, north of the Euphrates River and along the Syrian border, while the remainder of the Battalion operated out of Korean Village.

Beginning November 7 2004 Task Force Wolfpack lead by Company C participated in Operation Phantom Fury, the Division’s operation to retake Fallujah. Task Force Wolfpack’s primary mission was to attack to seize three key objectives on the Fallujah Peninsula—-the North and South Bridges and the Fallujah Hospital. Task Force Wolfpack suffered one killed in action and sixty-two wounded in action during this battle. During this time, Company D was attached to 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines and operated near the cities of Hit and Haditha securing the main supply routes and patrolling known insurgent areas.

In late November, Task Force Wolfpack departed the Fallujah peninsula and was attached to the US Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team (2BCT), 1st Infantry Division in Ramadi and supported the 2005 Iraqi national and provincial elections. Upon completion of these operations in early March, Task Force Wolfpack returned to Korean Village where the Battalion reformed and subsequently conducted a relief in place with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. The Battalion redeployed to the United States in early April 2005 and began preparations to redeploy to Iraq the following year.

Operation Iraqi Freedom IV

In early 2006, 3rd LAR redeployed to Iraq for the 3rd time in as many years. They are responsible for the western portion of the Al Anbar province including the Iraqi-Jordanian border and the southern portion of the Iraqi-Syrian border. By early October 2006, the battalion had redeployed to Twentynine Palms, CA. where it currently prepares for its next deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. [ [http://usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0DCB7F2BCAF51C8A85257144003C7B32?opendocument ] ] [ [http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/62D896D4EDC0A03F8525714F002EF758?opendocument ] ]

ee also

* List of United States Marine Corps battalions
* Organization of the United States Marine Corps

Notes

References

:Marine Corps

;Web
* [http://www.i-mef.usmc.mil/div/3lar/ 3rd LAR's official website]